gday all from noobi in WA

[jamie34]

Hey all, just introduce myself, Im jamie have just bought a house in perth and apart from high school never really touched wood at all ( no pun intended).
I am one of those people admitedly that has seen some stuff and thinks hey I can do that. so for the first time ever i think Im going to air some ideas first before jumping feet first into bunning with credit card for a trolley full of tools that i don't know how to use.
Any way Im going to rip up the pavers in my back garden and want to make raised vegetable beds out of recycled railway sleepers. what i have found so far is they are going to be wandoo and jarrah, ive heard rumer that they use chemicals that could seep into the soil and contaminate the veges.
Also have plans to get a few extra sleepers and try my hand at a coffee table, now as a noobi should i just leave this alone or just go straight on and do it.
from what i can tell wandoo is hard to work with and almost impossible to get to the thickness cut for you. is jarrah easier to work with.
thought i would just say hi and introduce myself as someone that doesnt really know what they are doing and looking for a bit of advice.
Ill leave it at that before i have another beer in the name of research and want to build a pergoda in the back yard.
cheers
jamie

[Ed Reiss]

Welcome to the forums Jamie

...why not just use the pavers instead of railroad ties, that way there would be no worries about contaminating the soil with chemicals.

[artme]

G'day Jamie and welcome to our store of knowldge and opinions.

Good place to be for help and advice and Ed has obliged with some handy advice already.

[munruben]

A very big welcome to you Jamie.

[poulso]

Hi Jamie
Welcome to the forum mate

[BobL]

Welcome to the nut house.

I am one of those people admitedly that has seen some stuff and thinks hey I can do that.

Ah , Monkey see - Monkey do - join the queue on the forum!

so for the first time ever i think Im going to air some ideas first before jumping feet first into bunning with credit card for a trolley full of tools that i don't know how to use.

Good idea

Any way Im going to rip up the pavers in my back garden and want to make raised vegetable beds out of recycled railway sleepers. what i have found so far is they are going to be wandoo and jarrah, ive heard rumer that they use chemicals that could seep into the soil and contaminate the veges.

You can reduce this problem by lining the sides of the beds with black plastic and you will also lose less water that way.

Also have plans to get a few extra sleepers and try my hand at a coffee table, now as a noobi should i just leave this alone or just go straight on and do it. from what i can tell wandoo is hard to work with and almost impossible to get to the thickness cut for you. is jarrah easier to work with.

Yes - jarrah definitely 1000% easier to work with!

[jamie34]

Thanks guys for the welcome and advice, Ed to be honest I hadnt even thought of using the paving slabs for the vegetable beds, not entirely sure its what I wanted but definatly worth a look at on the drawing board, i'll keep you posted.

[woodhack]

Also have plans to get a few extra sleepers and try my hand at a coffee table, now as a noobi should i just leave this alone or just go straight on and do it.
from what i can tell wandoo is hard to work with and almost impossible to get to the thickness cut for you. is jarrah easier to work with.

Hi Jamie....I am making a dining table out of Wandoo. Yes it is really REALLY hard but so far so good. I am now about 3/4 finished and so far only broken a couple of screws and some of my drills need sharpening. If you are interested, here is the post about it previously.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=89169

As a novice i can confirm Jarrah is heaps easier to work with but the Wandoo is great fun and extra work...but the end product will be glorious...and really different as not too many people will have it.

Keep me posted about what you choose...and if you want to check out what i am up to let me know....it will be my pleasure.

Cheers